Brakes of automobiles, tractors and other vehicles utilize friction between opposing surfaces to resist or stop rotation of the vehicle wheels. In automobiles and trucks, a brake shoe is forced outwardly against an internal braking surface of a cylindrical drum constrained to rotate with the wheel, or opposing pads of a brake caliber squeeze a rotor disk constrained to rotate with a vehicle wheel. The braking surfaces of these drums and rotor disks may become damaged by dirt and other foreign matter or by protruding rivets or other irregularities in the shoe or pad braking surface resulting in decreased braking performance. From time to time, braking surfaces of the drums and rotors may be restored to satisfactory condition by turning the drum or rotor on a lathe and cutting away material with a cutting tool to produce a restored, braking surface.
Brake lathes used for this purpose commonly have cantilevered, free-ended arbor shafts upon which the drum or rotor work piece is mounted for turning. Under certain machining conditions, depending upon the size of the work piece, depth of cut and radial distance of the cutting tool from the arbor shaft, vibration of the free-ended arbor shaft may occur and cause movement of the cutting plane of the work piece. Tool chatter which occurs under such conditions results in an unacceptably rough machined surface.